Mediaboss Marketing

While Republicans grapple with dj vu in the primaries for New Jersey's Third Congressional District, Democrats are gearing up for an unexpected fight between their newly anointed candidate and a nominee they tapped for a race four years ago.

The seat was put in play when former Philadelphia Eagle Jon Runyan decided last year not to run for reelection, putting the competition to replace him among the most-watched races nationally. The moderate-leaning district encompasses most of Burlington County and part of Ocean County.

Last week, Howard Kleinhendler, a Manhattan law firm partner from Lakewood who ran unsuccessfully against longtime Republican Rep. Chris Smith in 2010, filed as a challenger in the June 3 Democratic primary.

He will face Aimee Belgard, the candidate endorsed by the Burlington and Ocean County Democratic Committees. Belgard, a general practice lawyer from Edgewater Park, is a Burlington County freeholder who served as a township committee member in her hometown.

In a November interview on Dom Giordano's talk show on WPHT-AM (1210), Belgard said she wanted to "fix what's broken" in the Affordable Care Act, but declined to be more specific. She said that it was "very early in the campaign" and that she was still talking to constituents to learn their needs.

Belgard, 39, declined to make herself available for a phone interview with The Inquirer last week, but she answered questions via e-mail Friday.

"I'm running for Congress because I want to make a difference in the lives of my neighbors, my community and this country," she wrote. "I'm focused on growing the middle-class, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and standing up for women and our veterans."

She also provided a few more details on how she would change Obamacare. "I want to ensure that the Affordable Care Act is working for small businesses, not hurting them, and I will work to ensure that we keep costs down by increasing transparency so that consumers know exactly what they're paying for," she wrote.

Visit link:

Democrats, too, face contested primary in N.J. Third District